


Lullaby For A Stormy Night

by Muffins17



Category: The Walking Dead (Telltale Video Game)
Genre: Fluff, One of many fanfics I forgot I even wrote
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2019-12-09
Updated: 2019-12-09
Packaged: 2021-02-25 20:55:31
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 2,319
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/21731824
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Muffins17/pseuds/Muffins17
Summary: "For you know, once even I was a little child, and I was afraid. But a gentle someone always came to dry all my tears, trade sweet sleep for fears and to give a kiss good night."
Relationships: AJ | Alvin Junior & Clementine (Walking Dead Video Game), Clementine & Kenny & AJ, Clementine & Kenny (Walking Dead Video Game), Clementine & Lee Everett, Clementine & Sarah (Walking Dead Video Game), Rebecca & Sarah
Comments: 1
Kudos: 21





	Lullaby For A Stormy Night

**Author's Note:**

> Disclaimer: I do not own The Walking Dead or the song used in this fanfiction. 
> 
> The song is Lullaby For A Stormy Night by Vienna Teng.

Clementine never minded thunderstorms. To her, they were just sounds, indications of a normal occurrence, a simple act of nature. She failed to understand why her peers would make such a huge drama about it, how the girls in her class would scream and cower in the darkest corner of the room.

But that was before.

Before walkers. Before the apocalypse. Before she learned how to survive it.

Before all of it, storms were just noise. But now noise was bad, because noise meant attracting them. The walkers.

She knew her view of storms had taken a complete one-eighty as she ran through the strong, windy weather towards Kenny and Katjaa's room. Once there, she opened the door and slammed it behind her. She pressed her back against the wood and covered her ears as the loud cracks of thunder and lightning made themselves known. Sobs and quivers wracked her small frame, her clothes and face soaked with tears and rainwater.

Why tonight of all nights did Lee have to be on watch? They had no electricity for light so they had to resort to using candles and flashlights, but even that wasn't enough to help Clementine feel less frightened. It was a miracle she had run all the way across the motel with no flashlight to see in the dark and the rain, a miracle no walkers had grabbed her. That was why Lee had chosen the safety of daylight on the day they first met; you never knew what could be lurking around in the night.

"Clementine?" A voice called out to her in the dark room. She opened her eyes and flinched before recognising the dark figure of Kenny kneeling beside her with a candle in hand. He slowly reached his hand out towards her before resting it on her shoulder, "Clementine, it's okay. It's just us."

"Are you okay, sweetie?" She heard Katjaa ask her from across the room. The Belgian woman sat on the bed with her son fast asleep in her arms and a candle glowing brightly on her bedside table.

Clementine was about to answer before the lightning suddenly struck outside and she let out a small shriek as she covered her ears and quivered some more. "S-storm, noise, walkers...scary..." She whimpered as she curled up even more into a ball.

"Come up here, sweetheart," she heard Kenny say as she felt his hand move from her shoulder to one of her smaller hands and led her over to the bed, placing the candle on his bedside table and sitting down beside his wife. "Lee's on watch again, isn't he?"

She nodded as she crawled in between them, still shaking a little as she clutched at Kenny's sleeve. He didn't hesitate to put his arms around the girl and held her close.

Katjaa reached her hand out towards the child's face to wipe away her tears, "Do you want to stay with us?"

Clementine's face brightened up a bit with a small smile before she frowned, suddenly hesitant. She glanced at Duck who was sleeping soundly in his mother's arms. "A-are you sure?" She asked a little guiltily. She felt like she was taking up a lot of space, even though the bed was big enough for all of them.

Kenny chuckled, "I'm sure Duck won't mind."

"O-okay."

"Have you always been scared of thunderstorms?" He asked her curiously. He knew that a lot of children were scared of thunder, but like Clementine, he never understood why that was the case. His father always told him that it was a normal thing when he was her age.

"No," she answered, "A lot of the girls at my school screamed though."

"Why are you scared now?"

Another loud crack of lightning sounded off again as Clementine stuttered, "Th-thunder and lightning make noise. Noise makes th-the w-walkers come..."

Katjaa brushed some hair from her eyes, "Oh, you don't have to worry about that, sweetie," she told her as she smiled reassuringly, "Nothing is going to hurt us."

Clementine glanced at her before looking down with sad eyes and trembling lips, "You don't know that..."

"'Course we do," Kenny said with a chuckle.

At that, her lips stopping quivering and her eyes widened slightly, "How are you so sure?"

Kenny smiled as he brought his index finger to her chin and tilted her head upward so she was looking at him, "Because Lee is out there right now lookin' out for anything creepin' up on us, and he's one of the strongest people we know. I mean, he's kept you safe, hasn't he?"

Clementine squinted her eyes in thought. She recalled the encounters they had with the walkers, specifically the two she had in Macon, and when they grabbed her, Lee was there to keep her out of their reach. That brought a smile back to her face, "Y-yeah, he has."

Kenny smirked, "See? There's nothin' to be scared of if you believe there's somethin' to fight that fear away."

"No," she giggled, "I guess not."

Katjaa smiled warmly. "Now why don't we try to get some sleep?"

"I..." Clementine trailed off as the thunder rumbled loudly outside. This storm was going to keep her up all night, she couldn't sleep if any loud noises were present. "I don't know if I can sleep right now."

"Is there anything your parents would do to help you sleep through nights like this?"

"My babysitter Sandra would either read me a book or sing a song to me to get me to sleep. Though I don't remember any of them. Do you know of any?"

Kenny hummed as he tapped his chin in thought, then he smiled at her, "There's one."

Clementine leaned her head into Kenny's chest as he pulled her closer to him and cleared his throat. She felt his fingers run through her dark curls as he inhaled and began to sing:   


_"Little child, be not afraid_

_Though rain pounds harsh against the glass_

_Like an unwanted stranger, there is no danger_

_I am here tonight"_

The song hadn't even started yet and Clementine's eyes were already beginning to droop as Katjaa began to sing the next verse.   


_"Little child, be not afraid_

_Though thunder explodes and lightning flash_

_Illuminates, your tear-stained face_

_I am here tonight"_

The girl felt herself beginning to relax as Kenny slowly rocked her back and forth. It had been such a long time since she had felt this content before everything started to crumble around her. For now she'd have to make the most of this moment, to make it count, to enjoy it. A smile was brought to her face as she listened to both of them singing the chorus.   


_"And someday you'll know_

_That nature is so_

_This same rain that draws you near me_

_Falls on rivers and land_

_On forests and sand_

_Makes the beautiful world that you'll see_

_In the morning"_

The rumbling of the thunder was starting to fade as the beautiful melody continued. The last thing she heard was the sound of a candle being blown out before the realm of dreams took her.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

Sarah wasn't fond of thunderstorms either, but it was for a different reason. She believed they brought bad luck, that they took every person she loved away from her. She lost a lot of people she travelled with during nights like these, including her mother, whom she was particularly close to.

Since then, her father had become very distant, always sheltering her and keeping her from figuring things out for herself.

Most nights he wasn't there to comfort her whenever she had a nightmare or when a storm rolled in, and she feared that he'd never come back in the morning when it was over. Those nights she would curl up in a ball and cry until she fell asleep, and because of the lack of blankets, she'd wake up shaking like a leaf.

Tonight was different. Someone was there to comfort her this time, though it wasn't her father. It was one of the new members of the Community they were currently staying in. Her name was Rebecca, and she was a very nice lady. They happened upon each other when Rebecca and her husband first arrived earlier in the day.

Later that night, Rebecca had walked in and found the young girl shivering on the floor in a corner of the pen. She knelt down to her level and asked her what was wrong. The thunder blasting outside and Sarah covering her ears in terror was her answer.

"It's okay, sweetie," the woman assured her with a kind smile, "The thunder isn't going to hurt you."

"It's n-not that," Sarah stuttered out through panicked breaths, "What if my dad doesn't come back? I don't want him to leave me too!"

Rebecca placed a gentle hand on her shoulder and pulled her into a warm embrace, "He will be back, honey. I promise."

Sarah was about to respond when she heard the familiar tune of a song she heard once or twice from when she was little.   


_"Little child, be not afraid,_

_Though storm clouds mask your beloved moon_

_And its candlelight beams, still keep pleasant dreams_

_I am here tonight."_

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

Christa lovingly stroked her belly, her unborn child kicking lightly as she, her partner Omid and their foster daughter Clementine sang to them.   


_"Little child, be not afraid_

_Though wind makes creatures of our trees_

_And their branches to hands, they're not real, understand_

_And I am here tonight."_  


~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

Clementine sniffled as Sarah and Rebecca recited the song that brought them all so many happy memories. The rain was so loud it was hard to hear them sing, but the warmth of the fire, the tent providing a roof over their heads and the friends she held so close to her heart was all she needed to feel better despite being under the weather.   


_"And someday you'll know_

_That nature is so_

_This same rain that draws you near me,"  
  
_

_"Falls on rivers and land_

_On forests and sand,_

_Makes the beautiful world that you'll see_

_In the morning."  
_

It was cold and loud outside the tent, but both girls held each other close as their voices intermingled on the last part.

They were no longer cold, and were no longer afraid either, because they had each other, and that was all that mattered.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

Clementine held a quivering AJ in her arms, rubbing the boy's back soothingly as she sang the next part.   


_"For you know, once even I was a_

_Little child, and I was afraid,"  
_

She turned and locked eyes with Kenny who was sitting on the log by the campfire across from her.  


_"But a gentle someone always came,_

_To dry all my tears, trade sweet sleep for fears_

_And to give a kiss goodnight,”_

They smiled at each other as they sang the rest of the lullaby together.

_“Well, now I am grown,_

_And these years have shown_

_The rain's a part of how life goes_

_But it's dark and it's late_

_So I'll hold you and wait_

_'Til your frightened eyes do close,"_

Unbeknownst to them, Lee, along with all the other people they loved who were lost to the horrors of the world, were watching them and listening to them singing that beautiful melody. Even in death, Lee's eyes began to blur with tears of pride as old, but treasured memories from four years ago flowed through his mind.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~  


_Lee had just finished tucking Clementine into bed when she made an unexpected request._

_"Can you please sing to me?" She asked in a small voice._

_"Huh?" This caught him off guard. Sing? When did this come up?_

_"I've heard you humming that lullaby Kenny and Katjaa taught me to yourself earlier today."_

_Lee's face began to heat up as he rubbed the back of his neck in embarrassment, "Yeah, but I haven't learned it yet. Besides, I think you'd prefer if they sang it to you anyway."  
_

_The child giggled, "Kenny's a good singer and Katjaa's voice is very pretty, but I'd also like it if you sang it," she looked up at him with those big, adorable puppy eyes; his one weakness, "Please? It's okay, I'll like it, even if it's bad."  
_

_He laughed, "Very reassuring, Clem."_

_She rolled her eyes playfully as she giggled again, "How about we sing it together?" She suggested._

_"Anything for you, sweet pea," he chuckled as he smiled warmly._

_~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~_ ~~~~~~

_Kenny just happened to be walking by as he headed for his and Katjaa's room, hands buried deep in his pockets. He was about to put his hand on the doorknob when he heard singing coming from the room a few doors along. He peeked his head into the open doorway and was greeted with something he didn't expect;_

"And I hope that you'll know

That nature is so

This same rain that draws you near me,"   


_There Lee was, at Clementine's side, singing that beautiful melody that Kenny had only taught the girl a few nights ago. It wasn't even stormy tonight and they still wanted to sing it. He couldn't blame them though, it was a beautiful song._ Guess it wouldn't hurt to join in.

"Falls on rivers and land

On forests and sand

Makes the beautiful world that you'll see

In the morning."

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

It was hard to believe that nearly eight years had passed since the world ended, and yet here Clementine and AJ were, with their new family, in the safety of the dorms of Ericson's Boarding School for Troubled Youth, singing their worries away while swaying like blades of grass in the wind as they held each other close. 

_"Everything's fine in the morning,_

_The rain'll be gone in the morning,”_

_”But I'll still be here in the morning.”_

_”But you'll still be here in the morning."_


End file.
